And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.
Solomon is secure on the throne, and the first man to test it is the brother whose own bid for the crown had just failed. Adonijah does not go to the king; he goes to the king's mother, who asks at once if he comes in peace.
Adonijah had tried to seize the crown, and the king pardoned him. One commentator shows what he did with that pardon.
Adonijah is the first to bring judgment on himself. The king had treated him kindly and had pardoned his offence and rebellion. But now he asks for something that can only suggest a second and subtle try for the kingdom. He sought the one who had been the young companion of the aged king. And he sought it through Bathsheba.
Adonijah picks his route with care. He wants someone with influence to carry his case for him. One writer finds the same instinct in a religious habit alive today.
Adonijah was like many religious people today, who choose to pray to Mary the mother of the Lord Jesus, to seek her influence with the Lord. He was too cautious to approach Solomon himself.
Her question is not politeness. She knew what Adonijah's success would have cost her and her son.
Adonijah speaks to Bathsheba, so that she may bring his request to the king, her son. "Do you come peacefully?" asks this godly woman, who has her doubts about the son of Haggith. She knew that if he had succeeded in his plans, she and her "son Solomon should be counted offenders."
Yet her caution did not go far enough.
Adonijah was not a changed man, even though he had submitted to Solomon. After David's death he came to Bathsheba. She was on her guard, wondering if he came in peace, but she was not on her guard enough.
Adonijah answers with one word. Then he starts to talk about the crown that he says should have been his.
This man, though outwardly broken, is still far from broken in his heart. "You know," he says, "that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign." … His words alone reveal an embittered heart. The bitterness was long held down, and now it shows itself, because he had not judged himself in the least.
His appeal was moving, and Bathsheba missed what lay behind it.
Adonijah, the wicked rebel on probation, visits Bathsheba. … Bathsheba was completely won by Adonijah's moving plea and did not discover the wicked plot hidden beneath his request.
Adonijah makes his move while the throne is still new. A kingdom of righteousness does not leave what opposes it alone.
The throne is barely set up before hostile elements, foreign to the kingdom, show themselves. But this is the character of the kingdom of righteousness: it reproves everything that is not in harmony with itself. In Solomon's presence the flesh can no longer push itself forward or follow its own bent as it pleases.
- Pardoned. Adonijah had rebelled, and the king pardoned him. This visit turns that pardon into the opening move of a second try for the throne.
- Indirect. He goes to the king's mother, not to the king. It is the same instinct that sends people to a go-between instead of to the Lord Himself.
- Guarded. Bathsheba doubted him, and with reason. His success would have left her and Solomon counted as offenders.
- Unjudged. His "Peacefully" was outward only. The words that follow reveal a bitterness long held down, because he had never judged himself.
- Exposed. A kingdom of righteousness reproves whatever does not match it. In the true king's presence the flesh can no longer push itself forward.
And he said, I have something to say to thee. And she said, Speak.
Solomon's throne is new, and his older brother Adonijah has already tried once to seize the crown. Solomon spared his life, and now Adonijah comes to the king's mother with something to ask.
Adonijah had grabbed at the kingdom once and lost. When he begged for his life, Solomon set terms instead of a simple pardon. Those terms stand behind this conversation.
Adonijah begs the king for mercy and tries to get from him a solemn promise to spare his life. Solomon agrees to forget and to be gracious one more time. But he places Adonijah under responsibility before the glory of his reign: "If he shows himself to be a worthy man, not one hair of his will fall to the ground. But if wickedness is found in him, he will die."
So every word he speaks from here on is on trial.
Bathsheba had reason to be wary. She asked him outright whether he came in peace.
"Do you come in peace?" asks this godly woman, who has her doubts about Adonijah. She knew that if his plans had succeeded, she and her son Solomon would be treated as offenders. This man looks broken on the outside. In his heart he is still far from broken. "You know," he says, "that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel looked to me to reign." How could such claims fail to stir the anger of the true king?
Adonijah did not take his request to the king. He took it to the king's mother.
Adonijah was not a changed man, despite having submitted to Solomon. After David's death he came to Bathsheba. She was on her guard, wondering if he came in peace, but she was not on guard enough… He was too cautious to approach Solomon himself. But he told Bathsheba that all Israel had set their expectations on him. This was only pride. How did he know that all Israel favoured him?
Her caution was real, but it was not enough. She gave him leave to speak, and his plan moved forward.
What he wanted was Abishag, the young woman who had cared for David in his last days. Said plainly it sounds harmless. It was not.
He openly admits that the LORD had given the kingdom to his brother. Then he asked Bathsheba to ask her son Solomon to give him Abishag the Shunammite as his wife. Adonijah's moving appeal won Bathsheba over completely. She did not see the wicked plot hidden beneath it… By eastern custom, many people treated a dead king's wife or concubine as a claim to the rights of the king. Abishag was not David's wife in the full sense, yet she must have been counted as belonging to the departed king. If Solomon had granted the request, he would have hopelessly degraded himself in the eyes of the people.
Bathsheba passed the matter on as a minor favour. Solomon heard what she did not.
It did not look like much on the surface, but Solomon was wise. Solomon detected the unjudged ambition and rebellion in Adonijah's heart. So even though his own mother was the one asking, he judges. She presented what she called a small petition. People often do that when something great lies behind it, though the great thing is not always known. Bathsheba on this occasion was only the instrument of a man who was not seeking something small. He was seeking the greatest place in the kingdom.
Commentators read Solomon as a picture of Christ reigning in glory. Before that king, a will still set against Him cannot hide behind a polite request.
Solomon at first shows mercy to Adonijah. But that man's will was still restless, and he desired the dead king's wife. That will awakens the righteous judgment appointed for those who had failed in integrity and had risen up against God's anointed. It is the first mark of the king reigning in glory. He carries out righteous judgment in the earth. There is no escaping the watchfulness of this judgment.
- Spared. Solomon gave Adonijah his life back on one condition: no wickedness must be found in him. His opening words here begin the test he fails.
- Smooth. He says he comes in peace, then claims at once that the kingdom was his. He had submitted on the outside, but not in his heart.
- Sideways. He will not face the king. He works through the king's mother, whose guard was real but not enough, and a moving appeal won her over.
- Small. The request is dressed as a little favour. But asking for Abishag was reaching for the crown. A modest plea can have something great hidden behind it.
- Seen. Solomon read the heart behind the words. He is a picture of Christ reigning. Nothing escapes the watchfulness of that judgment.
And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set their faces on me that I should reign; but the kingdom is turned about and is become my brother's, for it was his from Jehovah.
Adonijah tried to take his brother's throne and failed. Now he comes to Solomon's mother with a favour to ask, and he opens with a claim about the past.
Adonijah does not take his case to the king himself. One writer calls his claim pride, and asks how he could know the nation was with him.
He was too cautious to approach Solomon himself. But he told Bathsheba that she knew the kingdom was his and that all Israel had set their expectations on him. This was only pride, for how did he know that all Israel favoured him? Natural thought might have expected the eldest son to succeed his father, but Adonijah knew that the Lord had chosen Solomon as king. Yet he had thought he might defeat the Lord's choice by gathering people after him.
Adonijah's claim rested on being born before Solomon. Scripture shows that birth order does not always settle who inherits.
Among people, being born first usually gives the firstborn rights, but not always. By the natural order of birth Esau had the birthright, yet it passed to Jacob, the younger brother. David had many sons born before Solomon, yet the royal right to follow David on the throne went to Solomon. This is a striking case. Because of it Solomon appears in the family line of the Messiah, traced through Abraham and David (Matthew 1:6), though he was not David's eldest son. It was God's sovereign grace that gave this high honour of "firstborn" to the son of David and Bathsheba. It shows that birth order did not always decide firstborn rights.
The verse ends with words that sound like faith. One writer weighs them and hears bitterness, not submission.
This man looks broken on the outside. In his heart he is far from broken. "You know," he says, "that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign." How could claims like these fail to anger the true king? ... His words alone reveal a bitter heart. That bitterness was held down for a long time, and now it shows itself, because he had not judged himself at all. True, he also adds, "However, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother's, for it was his from the LORD." But is this a real recognition of God's will? Is it real submission to the throne of righteousness? Adonijah accepts the change because he cannot do otherwise. To his mind Solomon is an intruder.
Solomon had already spared Adonijah once and sent him home. That mercy came with a limit.
Solomon knows Adonijah and does not change his judgment when he sees him bowed before him. He knows what that proud heart holds, a heart that only pretends submission and repentance. "Go to your house," he says to him. Brief, severe words. Adonijah should have taken warning from them. From then on his part was to stay quiet, as a man found guilty and kept under watch. He enjoys this patience only as long as no evil appears in him. It will be the same in the future reign of the Messiah. He will spare many rebels who come to Him pretending repentance, but once evil is found in them He will cut them off from the land. When righteousness reigns, there will be no room for the wicked.
Earlier, Adonijah had said it plainly: he meant to be king. One writer traces those words back to the first rebellion of all.
Adonijah knew God's purpose full well. Even so, he "exalted himself, saying, 'I will be king,'" and in his vanity "prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him." As surely as Solomon prefigures Christ, Adonijah prefigures the Antichrist. Note the fatal words, "I will." In Isaiah 14:13-14 we hear Lucifer saying five times, "I will." Here we have the very essence of sin. 1 John 3:4, correctly translated, teaches us that "sin is lawlessness." Lawlessness is self-will.
The same writer points ahead to the day when God deals with pride.
God will know how to bring down all proud claims in the day of His wrath. "The haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day" (Isaiah 2:17). May the Lord keep us all from the Adonijah spirit of pride and self-exaltation!
- Claim. Adonijah opens with a boast, not a request. He rests it on birth order and on a following he could not prove.
- Choice. God's sovereign grace gave the throne to a younger son, just as Jacob received what belonged to Esau by birth.
- Confession. He says the change came from the LORD. One writer hears a bitter heart giving in, not a heart bowing.
- Concession. Solomon's mercy had spared him once, and it held only while no fresh evil showed. He treated the pardon as a pause, not a warning.
- Cause. Behind the polite words stands the old "I will be king." That self-will is the very essence of sin, and we should pray to be kept from it.
And now I ask one petition of thee; refuse me not. And she said to him, Speak.
Adonijah had already tried to seize the throne, and failed. Now he comes to Solomon's mother with one request, and asks her to promise before she hears it that she will not refuse. The words sound modest. Two questions follow: what was he asking for, and why through her?
Adonijah speaks before he asks. Bathsheba doubted him from the start and asked whether he came in peace. He replies that the kingdom was his, and that all Israel had looked to him. One writer finds the man's real heart in that opening line:
This man looks broken on the outside, but his heart is far from broken. "You know," he says, "that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign." How could such claims fail to stir the indignation of the true king? He — Adonijah — to have all the rights of succession to the crown and to the people of David! His words alone show an embittered heart, a bitterness long held down. It comes out now because he had not judged himself in the least.
He does add that the kingdom became his brother's, and that it was his from the Lord. But was that real submission? The same writer says no. Adonijah "accepts this because he cannot do otherwise."
He does not take his request to the king. He takes it to the king's mother, and he secures her promise before revealing what he wants.
He asked Bathsheba to intercede for him, to ask Solomon to allow Adonijah to take Abishag as his wife. He thought Bathsheba's intercession would carry weight with Solomon (vv. 16-17). Bathsheba did not see the dangers in such a suggestion. A sympathetic nature led her more than careful wisdom, and she agreed to plead for him (v. 18).
Grant adds that Bathsheba handled it badly. She should have simply told Solomon what Adonijah had said. Instead she repeated Adonijah's own tactic: she asked her son for one small favour and urged him not to refuse her. Solomon was too quick as well. He promised before he had heard what she wanted.
The request comes out in the next verse. He wants Abishag, the young woman who had cared for David in his last days. That ask was far bigger than it sounds.
Adonijah's request was a scheme to take the kingdom. Abiathar and Joab most likely put it together. To many, a deceased king's wife or concubine was, by Eastern custom, as good as a claim to the rights of the king (2 Samuel 12:8; 16:21-22). Now Abishag was not David's wife in the full sense of the word. Even so, she must have counted as belonging to the dead king.
Solomon's reply confirms it. He tells his mother to ask for the kingdom for Adonijah too. Granting the favour, the same writer says, would have "hopelessly degraded" Solomon in the eyes of the people.
Adonijah asks for one small thing. The small size is part of the plan.
It did not look like much on the surface, but Solomon was wise. Solomon detected the unjudged ambition and rebellion in Adonijah's heart... Bathsheba, on this occasion, was only the instrument of another man. He was not seeking something small. He wanted the greatest place in the kingdom.
Kelly adds that a small petition "is often done when there is something great behind, though not always known." Bathsheba carried the request. She did not know what she carried. Solomon still judged the matter, even though it was his own mother who brought it.
To grant this "one request" would not have been a kindness. It would have been a legal concession.
Abishag! — that young woman who had served David and cared for him tenderly. She had lived close to the king of grace. And she was to be given to this rebellious man, whom only the patience of Solomon had spared until this moment!... To give Abishag to him would be to admit that he had some right to his father's succession, some contact with the kingdom which he might be able to press at some favourable moment. It would be to accept his claims, and the revolt led by Joab and Abiathar, as legitimate.
Rossier closes with a question: should the woman who served David as a pure virgin be handed over to this godless man? Solomon's answer came fast. He had Adonijah put to death that same day.
- Heart — His opening claim that the kingdom was his exposes "an embittered heart, a bitterness long held down." He never judged it, so he was never safe.
- Route — He would not face the king. He worked through the king's mother, using her influence because he had none of his own.
- Request — One modest favour was really a claim on the dead king's household. By custom, that meant a claim on the crown.
- Reach — Behind the small words stood "the greatest place in the kingdom." Bathsheba became the tool of an ambition she never saw.
- Result — Granting it would have made the rebellion legal. Solomon refused, and Adonijah died that same day. The throne stood.
And he said, Speak, I pray thee, to Solomon the king -- for he will not refuse thee -- that he give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife.
Adonijah had already tried to seize David's throne. Now he comes to Solomon's mother with what sounds like a small personal favour. Two questions follow. Can a man bow to a king he still resents in his heart? And what does Abishag, the young woman who cared for David in his last days, have to do with the crown?
Asking for a woman from the dead king's household was never a private matter. It carried a political claim that is easy to miss today.
Later he asked to be given Abishag as his wife, the woman who had shared David's bed. According to Herodotus, eastern countries saw such a request as a claim to the crown. That fits Solomon's words, "Ask for him the kingdom also." It also explains the advice Ahithophel gave Absalom, to go in openly to his father's wives.
Another writer sees a plot behind the words, and names the men likely behind it.
Adonijah's request was a scheme to get the kingdom. Most likely Abiathar and Joab cooked it up... Abishag was not David's wife in the full sense of the word, yet people must have counted her as belonging to the dead king.
Adonijah never approaches Solomon. He works through someone he thinks the king cannot refuse.
Adonijah was like many religious people today. They choose to pray to Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus, to seek her influence with the Lord. He was too cautious to approach Solomon himself. But he told Bathsheba that she knew the kingdom was his and that all Israel had set their expectations on him. This was only pride, for how did he know that all Israel favored him?
One writer asks whether Adonijah's submission to Solomon was ever real.
His words alone reveal a bitter heart. That bitterness was held down for a long time, and now it shows itself, because he had not judged himself at all. True, he also adds, "The kingdom has turned about and become my brother's, for it was his from the LORD." But is this a real recognition of the will of God, a real submission to the throne of righteousness? Adonijah accepts it because he cannot do otherwise. He certainly does not belong to the "willing people" in the day of the power of the son of David. To his mind Solomon is an intruder.
Adonijah calls it one small thing. Bathsheba passes it on the same way.
She presented what she called a small petition. People often do that when something great lies behind, though it is not always known. On this occasion Bathsheba was only the instrument of a man who was not seeking something small. He was seeking the greatest place in the kingdom — and so Abishag is what he asks for.
One writer faults two others in the scene, not just the schemer.
Bathsheba did not see the danger in such a suggestion. A kind heart, rather than careful wisdom, led her to agree to speak to Solomon for him. She should have simply told Solomon what Adonijah had said. Instead she told him she had only a small request to make, and urged him not to refuse her. But Solomon too was too quick. He promised his mother he would not refuse, before he had heard what she wanted.
There is a second objection, beyond politics. It has to do with who Abishag was, and who was asking for her.
Abishag! That young girl had served David and cared for him with tenderness. She had lived close to the king of grace. And now she is to be handed over to this rebel, whom only Solomon's patience had spared until this moment!... Should the woman who served David as a pure virgin be handed to this godless man?
One writer reads the story forward, to a far larger attempt on what belongs to the King.
Will the King of Glory ever agree to hand over to another the bride He has chosen for Himself as King of Grace? The Antichrist, the man of sin, may hope to rob Christ of His bride by seizing a Christendom that has turned away from God... But he tries to put himself in Christ's place, to take His bride, and to seize the kingdom. Those efforts will end for the harlot and for himself in the lake of fire and brimstone.
- Ask small. He offers it as a small favour, but behind it stands a bid for "the greatest place in the kingdom."
- Ask sideways. Adonijah will not face Solomon. He sends a third party, hoping her influence will win what he dare not ask for himself.
- Ask unchanged. He said the kingdom came to his brother from the Lord. His words to Bathsheba show a man who had never judged himself.
- Granted small, lost large. If Solomon had granted it, he would have handed the rebel a claim to the throne.
- Asked, and answered. Bathsheba's kindness missed the danger. Solomon promised too fast. But his reply, "Ask for him the kingdom also," showed he had seen the real request.
And Bathsheba said, Well, I will speak for thee to the king.
Adonijah has just asked the king's mother to get Abishag for him as his wife. Bathsheba agrees at once. Her short answer raises the questions of the chapter. What was he really asking for? Why did he ask her and not Solomon? And why did so quick a promise end in a death sentence?
The favour sounded personal and modest, but commentators read it as a move on the crown itself. In that world a dead king's women carried the claim of the throne with them:
Adonijah's request was a scheme to get the kingdom. It was most likely put together by Abiathar and Joab. By the customs of the East, many people counted a dead king's wife or concubine as a claim to the rights of the king (2 Sam. 12:8; 16:21-22). Abishag was not David's wife in the full sense of the word. Still, she must have been counted as belonging to the dead king. If Solomon had granted the request, he would have hopelessly degraded himself in the eyes of the people (2 Sam. 2:7).
Another writer weighs who Abishag was, and what handing her over would have settled for good:
Abishag! — that young woman who had served David and cared for him tenderly — was she to be given to this rebellious man whom only Solomon's patience had spared until now? To give Abishag to him would be to grant him some right to his father's succession. It would give him some contact with the kingdom, which he could claim at a convenient moment. It would be to accept his pretensions, and the revolt led by Joab and Abiathar, as legitimate.
Adonijah never brought this to Solomon himself. One commentator sees in that avoidance a habit that has outlived him:
Adonijah was like many religious people today. They choose to pray to Mary the mother of the Lord Jesus, to seek her influence with the Lord. He was too cautious to approach Solomon himself. But he told Bathsheba that she knew the kingdom was his and that all Israel had set their expectations on him. This was only pride, for how did he know that all Israel favoured him?
Bathsheba carried the matter in as a little thing. Solomon saw straight through it:
It did not look like much on the surface, but Solomon was wise. Solomon detected the unjudged ambition and rebellion in Adonijah's heart... She presented what she called a small petition. That is often done when there is something great behind it, though the great thing is not always known. On this occasion Bathsheba was only the instrument of one who was not seeking something small. He was seeking the greatest place in the kingdom — and so Abishag is the request.
Her motive was kind. Commentators are not harsh with her, but they do not excuse the lapse either:
Bathsheba did not see the danger in such a suggestion. She agreed to speak to the king for him out of a sympathetic nature rather than careful wisdom (v.18). She ought to have simply reported to Solomon what Adonijah had said. Instead she told him she had only a small petition to make, and urged him not to deny her request (vs.19-20). But Solomon was also too quick. Before he heard her request, he assured his mother that he would not refuse it.
Adonijah had been spared once already, on terms. What he says to Bathsheba shows where he still stood:
This man, though outwardly broken, is nevertheless far from broken in his heart... His words alone show an embittered heart, a bitterness long held down and now coming out, because he had not judged himself at all. He does add, "The kingdom has turned about and has become my brother's, for it was his from the LORD." But is that a true recognition of the will of God? Is it a true submission to the throne of righteousness? Adonijah accepts it because he cannot do otherwise.
Solomon had spared him on one condition:
Solomon was not vengeful toward his brother, but he was guarded in the way he answered. If Adonijah proved himself dependable, he would not die. But if wickedness later appeared in him, Solomon would not spare him (v.52).
- Small ask, large aim. It looked like a marriage request. Commentators read it as a bid for the throne, most likely drafted by Joab and Abiathar.
- Small ask, avoided king. Adonijah would not face Solomon. He worked through someone he thought easier to reach — the same instinct, one writer says, behind praying to Mary rather than to the Lord.
- Small ask, quick yes. Bathsheba's sympathy ran ahead of her caution. She should have reported Adonijah's words, not backed them.
- Small ask, prior promise. Solomon promised before he heard what he was agreeing to. Both sides of this exchange carry a warning.
- Small ask, whole heart revealed. The request uncovered an unjudged heart. Adonijah had bowed to the throne only because he could not do otherwise. That was the one thing the king had said he would not let pass.
And Bathsheba went to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself to her, and sat down on his throne; and he caused a throne to be set for the king's mother, and she sat on his right hand.
Adonijah has asked the queen mother to carry a request to her son. Solomon receives her with great honour — but the errand she has agreed to run is dangerous.
Solomon does three things before he hears a word of her errand. One commentator sees more in them than family affection.
Beautiful is the reverence which Solomon showed to his mother. He rose from his throne. He bowed to her (the Septuagint, an early Greek translation, reads "he kissed her"). He made her sit at his right hand. How he honoured and loved her! It may foreshadow His love for the believing remnant of Israel, His beloved people, who will share in His coming Kingdom.
The man behind this visit never comes himself. One commentator sees in that avoidance a pattern still common today.
Adonijah was like many religious people today. They choose to pray to Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus, to gain her influence with the Lord. He was too cautious to approach Solomon himself. But he told Bathsheba that she knew the kingdom was his and that all Israel had set their expectations on him. This was only pride, for how did he know that all Israel favoured him? Adonijah knew that the Lord had chosen Solomon as king. Yet he thought he might defeat the Lord's choice by gathering people behind him. His words to Bathsheba show that he had not submitted to Solomon in his heart, and so he could not be trusted.
Bathsheba calls her errand a small petition. She is not the one who shaped it.
She presented what she called a small petition. That is often done when there is something great behind it, though it is not always known. On this occasion Bathsheba was only the instrument of one who was not seeking something small, but the greatest place in the kingdom. So the request is for Abishag.
Abishag had cared for David in his last days. Handing her to Adonijah would not have been a wedding gift; it would have been a legal foothold.
To give him Abishag would be to grant him some right to his father's succession. It would give him some contact with the kingdom, which he could claim at a convenient moment. It would treat his claims, and the revolt led by Joab and Abiathar, as lawful. Should the woman who served David as a chaste virgin be given to this godless man?
Another writer explains the custom that gave the request its force.
Adonijah's request was a scheme to obtain the kingdom. To many people, taking a dead king's wife or concubine was, by Eastern custom, the same as claiming the king's own rights. Had Solomon granted the request, he would have hopelessly degraded himself in the eyes of the people.
The honour of this moment does not make either party careful.
Bathsheba did not see the dangers in such a suggestion. A sympathetic nature, not cautious wisdom, led her to agree to plead for him. She should have reported to Solomon exactly what Adonijah had said. Instead she told him she had only a small petition to make, and urged him not to refuse it. But Solomon too was quick to promise his mother he would not refuse — before he had heard what she wanted.
One writer sees the same struggle on a far larger stage. A rival reaches for the bride and the throne of the rightful king.
It will be the same with the Church. Will the King of Glory ever agree to hand over to another the bride He chose for Himself as King of Grace? The Antichrist, the man of sin, may hope to rob Christ of His bride by seizing a Christendom that has abandoned the faith — Babylon the Great at the end. But his efforts to put himself in Christ's place, to take His bride, and to seize the kingdom will end in the lake of fire and brimstone, for the harlot and for himself alike.
- Honour — Solomon rises, bows, and seats his mother at his right hand. One writer sees here a hint of the love the coming King will show His people.
- Access — Adonijah would not come to the king himself. He worked through someone close to him — as people pray through Mary instead of coming straight to the Lord.
- Disguise — A "small petition" can carry the largest ambition. Abishag was not the real object; the throne was.
- Haste — Bathsheba agreed without discerning, and Solomon promised without listening. Sympathy and generosity both need wisdom before they commit.
- Refusal — The King will never yield His bride to another. The rival who reaches for the bride and the kingdom loses both.
Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; refuse me not. And the king said to her, Ask, my mother, for I will not refuse thee.
Solomon has just risen from his throne, bowed to his mother, and seated her at his right hand. Then Bathsheba asks for one small favour — but she is speaking for Adonijah, a rebel the king has so far spared, and what he really wants is the throne.
Before Bathsheba names her request, the story pauses on how Solomon receives her:
Beautiful is the reverence which Solomon showed to his mother. He rose from his throne, he bowed himself to her (the Septuagint version reads "he kissed her"), and he made her sit at his right hand. How he honoured and loved her! It may foreshadow the love of Him for the believing remnant of Israel, His beloved people, who will have a share in His coming Kingdom.
Bathsheba calls her petition small. Solomon does not take the word at face value:
It did not look like much, but Solomon was wise. Solomon detected the unjudged ambition and rebellion of Adonijah's heart… She presented what she called a small petition. That is often done when there is something great behind it, though not always known, for Bathsheba on this occasion was only the instrument of one who did not seek something small, but the greatest place in the kingdom.
Adonijah had asked for Abishag, and what he asked for reached far past marriage:
Abishag! — that young woman who had served David and had tenderly cared for him, who had lived in the intimacy of the king of grace, to be given to this rebellious man whom only the patience of Solomon had spared until this moment! How little he knew both David and Solomon! To give Abishag to him would be to admit that he had some right to his father's succession, some contact with the kingdom which he might be able to assert at some favourable moment.
Another writer explains the custom behind the request:
Adonijah's request was a scheme to obtain the kingdom. Most likely Abiathar the priest and Joab had planned it. In the customs of that day, taking a dead king's wife or concubine amounted to claiming the rights of the king. Abishag was not David's wife in the full sense of the word, yet she must have been considered as belonging to the departed king. Had Solomon granted the request, he would have hopelessly degraded himself in the eyes of the people.
Bathsheba is not the schemer here. She is the one being used — and one writer still finds fault with her:
Bathsheba did not discern the dangers of such a suggestion, and was led more by a sympathetic nature than by careful wisdom when she agreed to intercede for him. She ought to have simply reported to Solomon what Adonijah had said, rather than telling him she had only a small petition to make and urging him not to deny her request. But Solomon was also too quick to assure his mother — before hearing her request — that he would not refuse it.
The promise costs Solomon. He gave his word before he heard the request, and now he must break it:
When she made her request, he flatly refused it, because he recognised that Adonijah still wanted the kingdom. Bathsheba had thought it was a small matter, but Solomon discerned the spirit behind the request, which was a deeply serious matter. He found he could not keep his word to his mother. Instead he decided that Adonijah must die, so that he would be no threat to Solomon's authority.
One writer sees in this refusal a picture that reaches far beyond the palace:
It will be the same with regard to the Church. Will the King of Glory ever consent to yield to another the bride He has chosen for Himself as King of Grace? The Antichrist, the man of sin, may hope to rob Christ of His bride by seizing apostate Christendom, which becomes Babylon the Great at the end. But his efforts to substitute himself for Christ, to take possession of His bride, and to seize the kingdom will end for both the harlot and for himself in the lake of fire and brimstone.
- Honour first. The king rises, bows, and seats his mother at his right hand. One writer sees a picture of Christ's love for His people, who will share His coming kingdom.
- "Small" is the trap. A petition called small often has something great behind it. Bathsheba asked for a woman; by the custom of that day, that was a claim on the crown.
- Sympathy is not discernment. A kind heart moved her, not careful wisdom. She should have reported Adonijah's words instead of pressing them as her own.
- Promise after you hear. Solomon gave his word before he heard the request. He could not keep it, and the haste was his, not hers.
- The King keeps His own. Solomon would not give Abishag away, because that meant giving away the kingdom. Christ will never yield the bride He has chosen to another.
And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother as wife.
Adonijah had already tried to seize the throne. Now he goes to Solomon's mother instead of to Solomon, and Bathsheba carries his wish to the king. The words sound like a family courtesy about a marriage. So why does Solomon hear a bid for the crown, and why does a man die that same day?
Bathsheba called her request a little thing. One writer treats that word as the key to the scene.
It did not look much in appearance, but Solomon was wise. Solomon detected the unjudged ambition and rebellion of Adonijah's heart... She presented what she called a small petition. People often do that when something great lies behind, though it is not always known. Bathsheba, on this occasion, was only the instrument of a man who did not seek something small. He sought the greatest place in the kingdom. And so the request is for Abishag.
Abishag had cared for David in his last days.
By the custom of that part of the world, a dead king's wife or concubine counted for many as much as claiming the rights of the king (2 Sam. 12:8; 16:21-22). Now Abishag was not David's wife in the full sense of the word. Yet people must have regarded her as belonging to the departed king. Had Solomon granted the request, he would have hopelessly degraded himself in the eyes of the people.
The historian Herodotus records the same custom. It "agrees with Solomon saying, 'Ask for him the kingdom also,' and explains also the advice given by Ahithophel to Absalom, to go in publicly to his father's wives" (Morrish Bible Dictionary).
Adonijah had submitted to Solomon, yet he would not take the request to him. One writer sees in that a habit still alive today.
Adonijah was not a changed man, even though he had submitted to Solomon... Adonijah was like many religious people today. They choose to pray to Mary the mother of the Lord Jesus, to seek her influence with the Lord. He was too cautious to approach Solomon himself.
Her kindness was real. But she made Adonijah's cause her own instead of simply laying his words before the king.
Bathsheba did not see the dangers in such a suggestion. A sympathetic nature, more than careful wisdom, led her to agree to speak for him. She ought to have simply reported to Solomon what Adonijah had said. Instead she told him she had only a small request to make, and urged him not to refuse it. But Solomon also was too quick to assure his mother, before hearing her request, that he would not refuse it.
The wrong was not only political. It also touched the king Abishag had served.
Abishag! — that young woman who had served David and cared for him with tenderness, who had lived close to the king of grace. And she was to be given to this rebellious man, whom only Solomon's patience had spared until now! How little he knew both David and Solomon! To give Abishag to him would be to admit that he had some right to his father's succession. It would give him some contact with the kingdom, which he might press at some convenient moment.
Some writers read the episode as a shadow of a greater claim that will also fail.
It will be the same with regard to the Church. Will the King of Glory ever consent to hand over to another the bride He has chosen for Himself as King of Grace? The Antichrist, the man of sin, may hope to rob Christ of His bride by seizing apostate Christendom... but his efforts to put himself in Christ's place, to take possession of His bride, and to seize the kingdom will have one end. Both the harlot and he himself will end in the lake of fire and brimstone.
Solomon had already spared Adonijah once. The renewed request brings the death sentence.
Solomon at first shows mercy to Adonijah. But Adonijah's will was still restless, and he wanted the dead king's wife. That awakens the righteous judgment meant for those who had failed in integrity and had risen up against God's anointed. It is the first character attached to the king reigning in glory. He executes righteous judgment in the earth.
- Small. Bathsheba called it a little thing. That is what makes it dangerous — something great can hide behind a small-sounding request.
- Throne. By the custom of the time, asking for the late king's woman was claiming the late king's rights. Solomon told her to ask for the kingdom too.
- Go-between. Adonijah would not face the king, so he used the king's mother. People still seek influence with the Lord through someone else instead of coming to Him.
- Unjudged. Mercy had spared him once. What killed him was a will that never submitted, still reaching for what belonged to another.
- Judgment. Commentators read Solomon here as a picture of the King reigning in glory. He carries out righteous judgment in the earth, and no rival will ever take His bride.
And king Solomon answered and said to his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.
Bathsheba brings Solomon a favour that sounds harmless: let Adonijah marry Abishag, the young woman who cared for David in his last days. The king's reply treats it as a bid for the throne, and names the two men behind it. How could a marriage request carry that weight? Why did it cost Adonijah his life?
The request came wrapped in modesty, and Solomon saw through the wrapping.
It did not look like much on the surface, but Solomon was wise. Solomon detected the unjudged ambition and rebellion of Adonijah's heart. So he judges, even though it was his own mother Bathsheba who was involved. She presented what she called a small petition. That is often done when there is something great behind it, though not always known. Bathsheba on this occasion was only the instrument of one who did not seek something small, but the greatest place in the kingdom. And so Abishag is the request.
Solomon calls Adonijah his older brother and names his two backers. The reply points back to an earlier grab at the throne — and to what asking for Abishag meant.
He was apparently the oldest of David's sons at the end of David's life, and may have thought that he would succeed to the throne. But without consulting his father he said, "I will be king," and both Joab and Abiathar helped him. David at once proclaimed Solomon as king. He afterwards asked to have as wife Abishag, with whom David had shared his bed. According to Herodotus (3.68), eastern countries counted this as a claim to the crown. That agrees with Solomon saying, "Ask for him the kingdom also." It also explains the advice Ahithophel gave to Absalom: to sleep with his father's wives in public.
One writer spells out what Solomon would have been giving away with her.
To give Abishag to him would be to grant him some right to his father's succession. It would give him some contact with the kingdom, which he might be able to claim at a convenient moment. It would be to accept his claims and the revolt led by Joab and Abiathar (v. 22) as lawful. Should the woman who had served David as a chaste virgin be given to this godless man?
Adonijah had admitted that the kingdom was his brother's by the Lord's decision. His first words to Bathsheba show what that admission was worth.
"You know," he says, "that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel expected me to reign" (v. 15). How could such claims fail to stir the indignation of the true king?… His words alone show an embittered heart. That bitterness was held down for a long time. It comes out now because he had not judged himself in the least. To be sure, he also adds: "The kingdom has turned about and become my brother's, for it was his from the LORD." But is this a real recognition of the will of God, a real submission to the throne of righteousness? Adonijah accepts it because he cannot do otherwise.
Solomon had just promised his mother he would not refuse her, and now he refuses. One writer finds a mistake on both sides.
She ought to have just reported to Solomon what Adonijah had said. Instead she told him she had only a small petition to make, and urged him not to deny her request (vv. 19-20). But Solomon also was too quick to assure his mother, before hearing her request, that he would not refuse it.
Solomon had already spared Adonijah once. This second move ended that patience.
Solomon at first shows mercy to Adonijah. But Adonijah's will is still restless, and he wants the dead king's wife. This wakes up the righteous judgment meant for those who had failed in integrity and had risen up against God's anointed. It is the first mark attached to the king reigning in glory. He carries out righteous judgment in the earth. There is no escaping the watchfulness of this judgment.
One writer carries the picture forward from Abishag to Christ and His bride.
It will be the same for the Church. Will the King of Glory ever hand over to another the bride He has chosen for Himself as King of Grace?… Here judgment did not wait: that very same day Adonijah is put to death.
- Small ask. Adonijah dressed his request as a minor favour. Solomon saw a reach for "the greatest place in the kingdom."
- Real claim. Asking for the late king's companion was understood as a claim to the crown — hence Solomon's "ask for him the kingdom also."
- Named backers. Abiathar and Joab stood behind the request. Granting it would have made their revolt lawful.
- Unjudged heart. Adonijah's words admitted God's choice. His bitterness showed he had never bowed to it.
- Swift judgment. Mercy had already spared him once. His restless will brought righteous judgment that same day — the mark of the King who reigns in glory.
And king Solomon swore by Jehovah saying, God do so to me, and more also, -- Adonijah has spoken this word against his own life!
Solomon's mother has just asked a small favour for his older brother, Adonijah: a wife. The king answers with an oath sworn in the LORD's name and staked on his own life.
Adonijah asked for Abishag, the young woman who had cared for David in his last days. Solomon's reply — ask for him the kingdom too — reflects what such a marriage meant at the time.
When Bathsheba states Adonijah's request, Solomon's sharp insight and wisdom show at once. "And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also; for he is my elder brother, even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah." Adonijah's request was a scheme to get the kingdom. Abiathar and Joab most likely worked it out. To many people, taking a dead king's wife or concubine was, by Eastern custom, the same as claiming the rights of the king.
Adonijah did not come himself. He sent the king's mother, and she called it a small request.
It did not look much on the surface, but Solomon was wise. Solomon detected the unjudged ambition and rebellion of Adonijah's heart, and so he judges, even though it was Bathsheba his mother who was asking. She presented what she called a small petition. That is often done when there is something great behind it, though not always known, for Bathsheba on this occasion was only the instrument of one who was not seeking something small, but the greatest place in the kingdom.
Solomon's patience had kept Adonijah alive. Granting this request would have handed him far more than a wife.
Abishag! — that young woman who had served David and cared for him tenderly, who had lived close to the king of grace! And she was to be given to this rebellious man, whom only Solomon's patience had spared until now! How little he knew both David and Solomon! To give Abishag to him would be to admit that he had some right to his father's succession. It would grant him a link with the kingdom that he could press at some convenient moment. It would treat his claims, and the revolt led by Joab and Abiathar, as legitimate.
Writers who read Solomon as a picture of Christ see the same refusal repeated on a larger scale.
It will be the same for the Church. Will the King of Glory ever consent to give up to another the bride He has chosen for Himself as King of Grace? … Here judgment did not have to wait: that very same day Adonijah is put to death.
Solomon's oath is not a sudden change of mood. Adonijah had already been spared once, and the pardon carried a stated condition.
Adonijah begs for the king's mercy and tries to get from him a solemn promise to spare his life. Solomon agrees to forget and to be gracious one more time. But he places Adonijah under responsibility before the glory of his reign: "If he will show himself a worthy man, not one of his hairs shall fall to the earth, but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die."
That is why the oath falls on Adonijah's own life. The pardon had named wickedness as the line he must not cross, and his own words crossed it.
Critics have offered another motive for the death sentence that follows.
Certain critics have suggested that Solomon had a more selfish, sensual reason for putting his elder brother to death. One of them says that if Abishag is the fair Shulamite of the Song of Songs, there can be little doubt that Solomon himself loved her. But there is absolutely no evidence that Abishag is the same as the Shulamite, and Jewish tradition does not support such a theory. It is a mere guess.
Commentators see more here than palace politics. Solomon's judgment pictures a greater King.
So we see that Solomon was not the man of blood that David was, and he was not the conquering king of Israel. Even so, he was a type of the Lord Jesus when He goes out as a man of war, which He surely will. He is a type of Him when He executes vengeance on His enemies, when He will bring them before Him and have them slain before Him, as He says in the parable. He is the type of the carrying out of righteous vengeance.
- Pardon. Adonijah had been spared once. The pardon came with terms: behave well and live, be found in wickedness and die.
- Probation. The terms left him alive but on trial. Only Solomon's patience had spared him so far.
- Petition. The ask looked small and came through the king's mother. A small request can hide a large claim.
- Proof. By the custom of the day, asking for the woman who had served David was a move on the throne. The wickedness named in the pardon had surfaced.
- Penalty. Solomon's oath names what the request had already done. Commentators see a picture of a coming reign where righteousness, not delay, answers rebellion.
And now [as] Jehovah liveth, who has established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day.
Solomon had already spared Adonijah's life once. Now his elder brother comes back through the king's mother with what sounds like a small request. Verse 24 is Solomon's answer under oath — and the ground he gives for it is not his own power but what the LORD had done for him.
Asking for Abishag was not a romantic favour. Adonijah was reaching for the crown again. The custom of that world made his meaning plain.
When Bathsheba states Adonijah's request, Solomon's keen discernment and wisdom are at once clear. Adonijah's request was a scheme to get the kingdom. Most likely it was devised by Abiathar the priest and Joab. To many people, a dead king's wife or concubine was, by Eastern custom, as good as a claim to the rights of the king. Now Abishag was not David's wife in the full sense of the word. Yet people must have regarded her as belonging to the dead king. If Solomon had granted the request, he would have hopelessly degraded himself in the eyes of the people.
The strength of Solomon's sentence lies in its opening clause. He does not point to his own power. He names the One who set him on the throne.
"As the LORD lives, who has established me" — notice how simple and how real the sense in the king's mind was that this was the LORD's doing. As long as he held that fast, Solomon was strong as well as wise.
Adonijah had spoken as though he accepted God's choice. One writer asks whether that submission was real.
His words alone show an embittered heart, a bitterness long held down and now coming out, because he had not judged himself in the least. To be sure, he also adds, "The kingdom has turned about and become my brother's, for it was his from the LORD." But is this a true recognition of the will of God, a true submission to the throne of righteousness? Adonijah accepts it because he cannot do otherwise. He does not belong to the "willing people" in the day of the power of the son of David. To his mind Solomon is an intruder — and if that is so, what must the LORD who had established Solomon be to him?
Mercy came first. Adonijah would not stay under it, and that is what called out the sentence.
Solomon at first shows mercy to Adonijah. But Adonijah's will is still restless, and he wants the dead king's wife. This awakens the righteous judgment meant for those who had failed in integrity and had risen up against God's anointed. It is the first character attached to the king reigning in glory. He executes righteous judgment in the earth.
Solomon did not set a date or open an inquiry. He settled the matter the same day Adonijah asked. Commentators see this speed as a picture of something still to come.
It will be the same for the Church. Will the King of Glory ever agree to give up to another the bride He has chosen for Himself as King of Grace? The Antichrist, the man of sin, may hope to rob Christ of His bride by seizing a Christendom that has abandoned the faith, which becomes Babylon the Great at the end. But he tries to put himself in the place of Christ, to take possession of His bride, and to seize the kingdom. His efforts will end for both the harlot and for himself in the lake of fire and brimstone. Here judgment did not have to wait. Adonijah dies that very same day.
- Established. Solomon's case rests on what the LORD did. He placed him on David's throne and built him a house, as He promised. While Solomon held that, he was strong and wise.
- Exposed. The throne of righteousness shows what a heart truly is. Adonijah's polite words could not hide the bitterness he had never judged.
- Claimed. Asking for Abishag was a quiet grab at the crown. By the custom of that world, the dead king's woman carried the dead king's rights.
- Executed. Adonijah refused the mercy shown him. The sentence that followed is the first mark of the king reigning in glory: righteous judgment carried out in the earth.
- Foreshadowed. One day another will reach for Christ's kingdom and Christ's bride. The judgment will be just as swift.
And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; who fell on him, that he died.
Adonijah asked for Abishag, the young woman who had cared for David in his last days. Solomon heard that request as a bid for the crown — so why did asking for a wife cost a man his life?
One commentator explains the custom that gave the request its force:
When Bathsheba passes on Adonijah's request, Solomon's sharp insight and wisdom show at once. "And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my older brother." Adonijah's request was a scheme to get the kingdom. Abiathar and Joab most likely put it together. By Eastern custom, many people treated a dead king's wife or concubine as the king's own, so asking for her was the same as claiming the rights of the king... Had Solomon granted the request, he would have disgraced himself beyond recovery in the eyes of the people.
The size of a petition is no guide to what stands behind it:
It did not look like much, but Solomon was wise. Solomon detected the unjudged ambition and rebellion of Adonijah's heart... She presented what she called a small petition. That is often done when there is something great behind it, though not always known. On this occasion Bathsheba was only the tool of a man who was not after something small. He wanted the greatest place in the kingdom.
Solomon had spared Adonijah once already. His own words to Bathsheba show what that mercy had not changed:
This man looks broken on the outside, but in his heart he is far from broken. "You know," he says, "that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign." How could such claims fail to anger the true king?... His words alone show an embittered heart, a bitterness long suppressed and now showing itself, because he had not judged himself in the least.
Solomon had set the terms of that earlier mercy himself, and they came with a condition:
Solomon agrees to forget and to be gracious one more time. But he puts Adonijah under responsibility before the glory of his reign: "If he will show himself a worthy man, not a hair of his shall fall to the earth, but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die."
One writer reads this scene as the first mark of Solomon's reign:
Solomon at first shows mercy to Adonijah. But Adonijah's will is still restless, and he wants the dead king's wife. That awakens the righteous judgment meant for those who had failed in integrity and who had risen up against God's anointed. It is the first character attached to the king reigning in glory. He executes righteous judgment in the earth. There is no escaping the watchfulness of this judgment.
What that judgment secured, however, had a limit:
Adonijah's disloyal scheming threatened the throne that David wanted made secure, so Benaiah fell upon him and he died... "And the kingdom was established" — yes, established for a time, but not forever! Just judgment prevailed temporarily.
Adonijah's rebellion began with two words: "I will." One writer traces where that self-will leads:
As surely as Solomon prefigures Christ, Adonijah prefigures the Antichrist. Note the fatal words, "I will." In Isaiah 14:13-14 we hear Lucifer saying five times, "I will." Here we have the very essence of sin. 1 John 3:4, correctly translated, teaches us that "sin is lawlessness." Lawlessness is self-will... Self-will has been the ruin of the human race, and its full evil has not yet come out.
The verse names the man who carried out the sentence. He had a long record of following his king:
Benaiah is of special interest to us. In David's time he already held a leading place in service. He had followed his master's footsteps in everything, step by step. Was he not worthy to be made chief captain over the whole army later on? Yet this man has no ambition other than to stay faithful to his king and to copy him. He is not like Joab, who takes the stronghold of Zion to gain the top place. No, he is humble, for his whole purpose is to reproduce David in his conduct.
- Ambition. The request for Abishag was a claim on the crown. Solomon's insight saw the kingdom hidden inside a "small petition."
- Unjudged. Solomon pardoned Adonijah, but pardon never broke him — his own words still called the kingdom his.
- Conditional. The earlier mercy came with terms: prove himself worthy and not a hair falls; show wickedness and he dies.
- Righteousness. Righteous judgment is the first mark of the king reigning in glory. Nothing escapes his watchfulness.
- Temporary. The kingdom stood firm — but only for a time, which is why the picture points past Solomon to a greater King.